In case you missed Here and Now on CBC last night . . .

24-year-old Caleb Everson beats and throws Stryker, an 8-month-old pitbull, down over a flight of stairs and then chains him on outside in -29 degree weather where the poor animal lies unable to move. Why? His neck is broken.

A neighbour says they heard Everson yell at the dog and beat him as he cried out in pain. When they later saw him tied on outside and unable to walk, they called the Police.

Everson said he accidentally dropped Stryker on the stairs and had no idea he was injured when he tied him on outside. The SPCA said the dog would not have lived without the extraordinary care he received from the animal hospital that treated him.

The prosecution asked for 3 months in jail, saying that a message needed to be sent. Everson's lawyer, Tony St. George, recommended probation, saying Everson needed a break.

So . . . for beating a defenseless animal, throwing him down over a flight of stairs, chaining him on outside in -29 degree weather, and then leaving him with a broken neck, unable to move -- Judge Lynn Spracklin gave Everson 1 month house arrest, ordered him to pay the $700 vet bill, and forbid him from owing another pet for 3 years.

I bet he laughed all the way home.

If you think that's a travesty of justice, stand up and be counted!